Imperfection
by once.upon.a.time.there.was.me
Summary: "Right. Thanks. Happy now?" Dan looked at her, still in his arms, arguing with him now. He stiffened, and he untangled himself from her. "Not really." "Just go away, Daniel." "Fine. If that's want you want." And then he left. Oneshot.


**Just a one-shot, just because I'm bored. :D**

**I might turn it into more, but only if I get enough reviews. It's kinda...eh, I'll say it straight to the point. It's fluffy. But read it before you judge. Yes, I'm talking to you. But it has its exciting points. No problem. ;D**

**You might like it. (:**

**Enjoy, my lovelies.**

Coming to England was a mistake.

Ian and Amy were still obviously not over Korea, although it had been eight years since.

But then again, _he_ hadn't gotten over some of that stuff that had happened during the hunt.

Screw that. He hadn't gotten over any of it.

He closed his eyes in frustration. Dan could still hear them arguing downstairs, quite a long way off, considering he was on the third floor.

"...cares about that?" Amy said, and although she wasn't yelling, she most definitely talking in a normal tone, either.

"Well, love—"

"Don't call me love!"

He laughed, hearing that line. Dan still couldn't believe she was still saying it after all these years.

"—it does matter because, although I have this incredibly nice place, we're still dealing with it!"

Oh. So that's what they were talking about about. Money.

Natalie poke her head in. Her nose wrinkled _slightly_, but it was enough for Dan to detect it. He was one of the few rare people who knew Natalie, like, really know her. It hadn't happened on purpose, but now with Ian and Amy about to become head of their branches, say, in about four years, they had been spending a lot more time together. Involuntarily.

But still. It counted.

Not that he minded now, with her all hot now.

Wait, hot?

She interrupted his amazing line of thought.

"Hullo, peasant," she greeted, her British accent thicker than usual.

"Hey to you too. I hope you realize that I'm almost richer than you are."

She shrugged indifferently, but her eyes betrayed her amusement. This was their usual greeting to each other.

Natalie sat down across the room, on a chair, her posture perfect.

Dan rolled his eyes.

"Come on, Tally. Live a little."

She cringed at the nickname. Natalie hated it, which was why he even called her it. But even she had agreed with him that it _was _better than 'Nat'.

_"I'd rather not be called the same thing as a bug," she had said pompously._

She was so cute when she was annoyed.

After he thought that, his next thought was, _Damn, this had to stop._

But even so, the memory brought a grin to his face.

But Natalie was looking around, her sharp eyes scanning the room and the window outside.

But Dan knew that it was because of Isabel that she was stalling. She still wasn't over that, either.

Well, if you thought about it, having your mom being a murderer did change a lot. Not to mention abusive.

Finally, she decided to take his advice, and she got out of her chair, laying on the soft carpet, mirroring Dan.

"Ha," he said, unable to resist the quip, "told you."

"_Daniel, shut up."_

"Yeah, whatever, _Tally._"

"You're so vulgar," Natalie shot back.

"How is that vulgar?"

Natalie threw her hands up, an accomplishment for one lying on the ground.

"I don't know! Maybe the fact that you are still obsessed over ninjas?"

Truth was, ninjas had lost their appeal to Dan after he learned to fight like one, but he said it anyway, like an old habit or a simple reflex.

"Ninjas are awesome! Don't know what chu talking 'bout."

Natalie rolled her eyes then, knowing full well that he wasn't obsessed over it anymore.

There was a small silence between them, broken by Amy and Ian arguing downstairs.

Then Natalie sighed loudly, something that he would bet his _video games_ on never happened.

"I wish they would bloody shut up!" her voice louder than usual.

Dan grinned.

"Why are you smiling?" she asked, her temper beginning to flare.

Oh, god, she was adorable.

But he pretended like it didn't have an effect on him.

He grinned bigger.

"You wanna annoy them?"

Then she smiled, her smile completely genuine and it was _perfect_. Her eyes glinted mischievously, in a way that made her look like she was hatching an evil, but totally funny plan.

"Yes!" Natalie rolled her eyes, for good measure. "For God's sake, they're not even arguing about something important now!"

As if to prove her point, Ian's voice drifted up, saying something like, "But chocolate fondue is much better than Belgian macaroons! Those are just too low-classed!"

The both burst out laughing, another thing that he was sure she never did, and he said, between laughs, "FOOD! THEY'RE FREAKING TALKING ABOUT FOOD!"

"I KNOW," she shouted back at him, laughing as hard as he was.

Then she added, as an afterthought, after they finished laughing, "And it was fucking hilarious."

That sent Dan back laughing. "I think...hahaha...that was the...hahaha...the first time...bahahahaha...I've heard you cuss..." he said, still laughing.

"I have cursed before, you arse!"

"...dahahaha...in American!" he finished.

Even Natalie couldn't keep a neutral face on that. The corners of her mouth lifted, once more.

"British people say 'fuck', too. And American isn't a language, stupid," she said gaudily.

"Yeah, yeah," he replied, waving her insults away. "What's the plan?"

~.~

"I hate you!" she screamed at him.

"I hate you more!" he yelled right back. "What's your problem, Brit?"

Natalie inwardly rolled her eyes. This was Dan's contribution to her plan. But she had to admit, this _was_ rather entertaining. Not like she would ever admit that.

"Say it right, American! British!" she argued, their voices climbing higher and higher.

She could hear Ian and Amy's footsteps, clattering up the stair, their argument all forgotten to stop their sibling's.

Natalie gave him a thumbs up, mouthing, "_It's working!"_

He just flashed a smile at her, sending her heartbeat into uneven thumps.

She _had _to work on that. Ninja boy probably played nice now, but friends were all she was going to let them be. No way was she going to get hurt. Again.

"Whatever, _Brit. _I don't even like this place!"

"Better than your rat-hole, peasant!"

By then, Amy and Ian had burst in.

"Guys," Amy said, as if she hadn't been arguing a second before, "take a chill pill. Let's talk this out, okay?"

The only indicator from Dan that he was enjoying this immensely was that glint in his eye, that glint full of trouble.

Since when had _Natalie Kabra_ known _peasants_ well?

_Well, _that little voice in her commented, _he's not a peasant now. I mean, he's rich, hot, and makes you laugh!_

_Shut up,_ she told it. _Just shut up. He isn't hot._

_You're right,_ it told her. _He's incredibly sexy._

Natalie sighed inwardly.

Oh, well. Time for a little action.

She picked up the cheap vase next to her—she had personally picked it, for situations like these—and threw it at Dan.

Amy and Ian raced over at Dan, who caught the vase and smirked.

"Missed me, missed me, now you gotta kiss me."

She almost smiled. Their plan was reaching a check-point.

She attempted a glare, but was about to burst out laughing. She quit before she actually did.

After all, self control only goes so far.

He placed the vase on another desk, and told Amy and Ian, who were skidding on the ground, trying to catch the vase, "Get up already, fools."

Dan offered Amy a hand, and Ian was getting up already.

Dan looked at her, and she winked at him.

He looked a tad thrown off, and Natalie worried that he'd forgotten that that was the signal.

He didn't, though.

Natalie came at Ian, kicking him behind the knee, and expertly handcuffed him with a pair of handcuffs that had been _oh so conv__eniently _been sitting on the table.

Meanwhile, Dan had tied Amy up, securing her hands behind her, and tied her ankles together as well.

He tossed her a length of rope, telling her, "Tie Ian's ankles up, too. Don't want them getting loose. Lucians and Madrigals, who knows what training we've been through?"

"Wait, wait, wait," Amy protested. "We haven't done anything wrong! I mean, you were the guys who were arguing, fighting like that."

"Exactly!" Ian echoed. "You were the ones acting like children!"

Natalie shared a smile with Dan.

"Please," she said, "do you hear what you're saying?"

"You've been arguing downstairs _all_ day long," Dan added.

"You have been using words that would scar a lot of children," she said innocently, batting her eyes at them.

A snicker escaped Dan, but he hid it as a cough.

"As well as throwing a lot of things," he continued, in a _I'm-so-patient-dear-me_ tone.

"We were just mimicking what you two were doing down there. Besides, we can't help it that we're stunningly talented. Who knows? We might get an Oscar Award some day."

Dan laughed out loud at that.

"Anyway, we'll be taking a little field trip to the sound-proof room, where you'll either a) make up b) make out, or c) both!" she finished brightly, putting enough sarcasm in it to let them know this time, she was not really cheerful.

"Why?" Amy asked, looking confused.

"Oh, my," Dan said sarcastically, "do explain it to her, won't you, Ian? It seems like my dearest sister hasn't been paying attention."

They dragged their siblings off and left them in the room, ignoring the protests they were saying.

~.~

Natalie and Dan sat outside of the room, laughing about their victory.

The vibrations from the door subsided, which Dan had passed off simply as banging, and Natalie leaned back on the floor.

Dan sat next to her, close enough that the top of her head touched his knee.

"I'm so tired," she murmured, curling up into her sleeping position.

"Not me!" he said, cheerfully. "I'm going to see what Amy and Ian are doing."

"Wait," Natalie said, slightly louder. "I want to be there when you do it. Give me a moment."

He sat down again as she tried to wake herself up.

After a few seconds, she was up.

"Alright," she yawned, "let's go."

"Come on, Tally," he said brightly, sling an arm around her shoulder, "wake up and have some fun!"

Having him touch her jolted her awake, and Natalie scolded herself by letting a single touch giving so much power over her. She stiffened, but then relaxed, afraid of that Dan's feelings might get hurt.

She stumbled, still not fully awake, and his grip on her tightened, just a little, but Natalie felt it nonetheless, blushing.

Natalie was suddenly glad that she had an olivy tone, and that her blushes wouldn't show on her face.

"Whoa, there. It's only, like, a yard away."

"Don't be silly. You're in London, and it would be a meter."

He smiled at her, a very Dan smile, and it made her heart flutter.

_Just hormones, just hormones, _she repeated to herself.

He unlocked the door, and Natalie screamed.

Now, it took a lot of surprise and pain to make her scream, but nothing had prepared her for this.

Beside her, Dan looked like he was about to hurl.

"OMIGOD!" she yelped. "GET A FUCKING ROOM!"

"WHAT THE HELL?" Dan shouted. "I'M SCARRED! AND I'M ABOUT TO SHIT MY PANTS 'CUZ THIS IS JUST SO FUCKING DISGUISTING!"

Amy and Ian were scrambling to get their clothes back on, and Ian yelled right back at them.

"WE WERE IN A ROOM! YOU TWO CAME IN HERE LIKE YOU BLOODLY OWN THIS PLACE! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH _YOU?"_

Dan looked at her. "The guy's got a point."

Natalie scrunched her nose at him. "Good point. Finish your shagging."

Dan slammed the door, and they took off running, down the three floors, and out into the garden, laughing their way there.

They neared the cherry tree, which was in full blossom, and the brook beside it bubbled happily.

It _was_ pretty, she supposed.

Dan plopped down, but she studied the ground warily.

"What's the matter now? The ground too dirty?" he asked sarcastically.

"Yes," she answers, "really dirty."

He scrutinized her for a moment, deciding that she wasn't kidding, and went back inside.

"Wait! Daniel, where are you going?"

"Dan!" he said. "And I'm going to get you a blanket, Princess Natalie!"

Feeling awkward, standing there alone under the shade, she looked into the distance. Her vision blurred, the way it did when you stared at something too long.

She heard distinct footsteps behind her, and she spun around, expecting Dan.

It wasn't.

Natalie couldn't even see her attacker, he was that fast. He had his arm around her neck, and she did what everybody did.

She froze.

It was only for a second, but it gave her attacker an advantage. Then, she lashed out at him, throwing her foot high in the air and swinging it back, hitting her attacker in an uncomfortable spot.

He obviously didn't know about the branches or anything, probably coming here to steal, and then saw her, deciding that he would get a little pleasure too.

Not happening.

She swung around, giving her assailant a nasty blow to the head, leaving him a little dazed.

Natalie didn't expect what happened next.

He fell on her, wrapping his arms tight on her, leaving her with no space to move, apparently trying to keep her immobilized until he could see straight again.

She wiggled hard, trying to remember her training, but his lock was tight.

Her blouse tore, and Natalie nearly went crazy right there. Damn. That was her best Prada shirt.

Yeah, yeah. Big news. Natalie Kabra, wearing clothes over again.

She focused on the situation, still trying to get out of his grip.

His hands were all over her. It was just so _wrong_; she felt defiled and dirty like she had never before.

She tried a back kick, getting her stance the best she could, but he blocked it deftly.

Bloody hell. He seemed like a professional.

She was going to have to call for help, then. Not Amy or Ian.

Dan.

Damn, she didn't want to call him, but she really had no choice.

"DAN!" she screamed. "HELP!"

Speak of the devil.

Literally, he practically materialized out of thin air.

He was already in action, all those years of training paying off. But the guy ducked _and _returned a blow.

Strange. It seemed like he was trained, too. He must _have_ been from the branches.

Dan hit the supposed spy on a sensitive nerve point, and knocked him straight out. Looking angry, he punched the guy another time, for good measure.

Then he was at her side.

"You okay?"

Natalie was about to nod, but the adrenaline left her body, leaving her to see just how much fear there was in her.

But the standard response came.

"I'm fine."

Dan's eyes traveled over her body, widening slightly in shock. He was being closed off to the world, too, barely letting down his guard anymore, never really showing how he felt inside.

Her arms rose up to cover her body, and she felt her face heat up as his eyes raked her for damage, before glancing guiltily at her.

He took off his shirt and she slipped it on, still clutching herself tightly. She felt his hand on the her back, cautiously but gently consoling her.

"Natalie. I mean it, tell me, please. Are you alright?"

And then she did something that she would have never done in thousand years.

She flung herself in his arms, and he stiffened, just as she had. But, just as she did, he relaxed, and simply held her tight.

"No," she whispered, "I'm so ashamed of myself. I could have taken him down. But I _froze_."

"Oh, Natalie," he murmured in her hair, which despite her shame, made her shiver. "Everybody does that."

"But I _could_ have taken him down! And I let him just _violate_ me..."

A shudder ran through her body.

His grip on her tightened. "But I got you."

She buried her head a little tighter in his shoulder.

"The point is, when it comes to fighting, I'm always ready. I passed all my tests with a 101! But take away my poisons, my weapons, I'm a sucker."

"Tally, that's not true. You took me down in a fight before."

"Dan, that was two years ago. When you were still a rookie," she said, slightly exasperated.

"But you're still amazing, Natalie," he countered.

_Ugh, _she lamented. She had imagined him holding her, telling her she was amazing, but never like _this._

"Maybe I just have too big of an ego," she murmured to herself, but Dan picked it up anyway.

"That's not true. And you better get better. You're not going to wallow in your shame for the next week I'm here."

"That's not fair!" she snapped back. "You should be at least sympathizing with me."

"You wouldn't like that."

"You're right. I don't like you."

"Hey, now. I did save you with my amazing ninja moves."

"Right. Thanks. Happy now?"

Dan looked at her, still in his arms, arguing with him now.

He stiffened, and he untangled himself from her.

"Not really."

"Just go away, Daniel."

"Fine. If that's what you want."

And then he left.

_xxx_

It had been two days now.

And she still wasn't talking to him.

Dan knew that she didn't like people seeing into her, convinced that everyone was as evil as her mother.

Ian and Amy knew the feeling, too, wanting to do so much for someone, but being helpless as they suffered.

It was strange, really, now that he thought about them.The Clue Hunt had made them hate each other, and when it was over, half of them had begun dating each other. For instance, Sinead and Hamilton.

God, they were worse than Amy and Ian. _They _obviously didn't care who caught them in the act of what or when.

But now, the Kabras and the Cahills were practically best friends.

Funny. Well, not exactly best friends. More like, people with mutual benefits.

Yeah. That fit.

But anyway, he was leaving in two days and was possibly not coming back in about, say, a year.

He lounged on his bed, pulling out his phone. Well, it wasn't like the Kabras had any games.

Temple Run. What fun.

Amy came at his door, knocking.

"Oh, hey, sis," he called, halfheartedly playing the game, "what's up?"

"Natalie, that's what."

Amy came into his room and plopped on his mini sofa.

"What about her?" he asked, curious, but eyeing her warily.

Did she crack?

"She's being weird, even for her."

"And you came to me because..." he trailed, wondering if she had told Amy and Ian about what happened.

"Duh, you dweeb—"

He rolled his eyes at the stupid nickname she still hadn't stopped calling him yet.

"—she feels the comfortablest with you."

"Comfortablest?"

"Oh, shut up, Dan. Just because we're in England doesn't mean I have to have perfect grammar."

He grinned. "There's the Amy I like."

She rolled her eyes. "Care to tell me what's wrong with her?"

"Well, when you were fucking Ian—"

"Dan! Don't curse!"

He paused, not sure if he should tell her. But he told her anyway, because if anyone could make someone feel better, it was Amy.

"Well, when you were sexing it up with Ian, someone came in here and attempted to you-know-what her and Natalie just froze, but then I came and played hero before she really got hurt, but right now she's ashamed."

Amy looked horrified, which was downright funny. After the Clue Hunt, all their training, and their missions, which she had done as a coldhearted, efficient, and scary girl, it was this that horrified her.

"Oh, poor Natalie," she mused. "Maybe I should talk to her."

"Get Ian to do it," Dan advised, "since he's closer to her."

"Yeah. I'll do that. But you gotta talk her, 'kay?"

"I doubt she wants me to. She told me to leave her alone," he informed her.

His sister cracked a smile. "I find this funny. You never tell me anything, and now you're telling me all about your love life."

He scowled at her. "This isn't my love life. And that's not funny."

She laughed out loud. "And Daniel Cahill is going to listen to what a girl tells him to do, and furthermore, that girl is _supposed_ to be his sworn enemy, a Kabra."

Even he smiled at that. "_Supposedly, _the Kabras are _our_ sworn enemies, but hey, you didn't think about that with Ian, did you?"

He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Amy was not moved. Damn, she never blushed these days. Too confident to.

Sigh. Sometimes he missed his blushing, stuttering sister.

"Mmm-hmm. And you're going to tell me you don't with Natalie?"

He glared at her. "Don't you have to tell Ian something?"

She laughed louder. "Fine, fine. Bye, dweeb."

_xxx_

She was so ashamed of herself. All that training, and it still hadn't made much of a distance.

Stupid.

There was a knock at her door.

Hurriedly, she blotted out the tears and applied mascara in record time. Natalie yanked the brush through her dark hair and flushed the toilet, just to wipe suspicion away.

She opened the door, ready to slam it if it was Dan, but was met instead by Ian.

"Natalie, can I come in?"

Funny. He was actually trying to be nice...something was up. Did he know?

Natalie narrowed her eyes at him. "What do you want?"

"Just to talk," he replied vaguely.

"Like..."

Ian sighed. "Look, Amy said you had a big problem, and that I should talk to you about it."

She laughed at him.

"Listen to yourself, Ian. You're letting a _girl _telling you what to do! You're a _Kabra, _for heaven's sake."

He rolled his eyes, but she knew that the remark hit hard.

Natalie smirked.

"Natalie, please. She _suggested_ it, and since we hadn't talked—really talked—in a long time, I said okay."

"Yeah?"

"Yes. Stop being petty. Did you forget all your training?"

The comment hurt, and it hit a little close—too close—to home.

Suddenly, Natalie was close to tears, her eyes brimming, about to cry in front of someone for the first time in years.

Ian looked taken aback.

"Bloody hell, Natalie, are you alright?"

Natalie blinked twice, and to her relief, the tears retreated at her command.

"I'm fine."

"Natalie," her brother commanded, "look at me. What in the world happened, something so bad that made you cry? Was it Daniel?"

"Dan," she corrected, "and no."

"Then, who was it? The last time I saw you like this was, what? Six years ago? Hell, I would go as far to say you haven't been crying at all, if your pillows weren't wet occasionally!"

"_I'm fine._"

"You aren't," Ian said, worry creeping in a little, barely detectable.

Damn. He must be really worried if he was letting that much show.

"Tell me," he begged.

Natalie wouldn't budge.

"I'll go ask Amy," he threatened. "I would have before, but I wanted to hear it from you. _Please, Natalie."_

"Go away," she murmured, the tears still close. "Just _go away._"

_xxx_

Ian went outside, towards the bench under the willow, where Amy was sitting, staring off into the distance.

He sat down beside her, and she turned towards him, her jade eyes expectant.

Ian just shook his head ruefully, hating to disappoint her.

Bloody Mary. Natalie was right. He _was_ going soft.

"What happened to her? That's the first time I've seen her cry—nearly cry—in _years,"_ he said softly, not wanting anyone to hear.

Amy sighed, looking away again.

"Damn," she muttered, mostly to herself.

Ian raised an eyebrow at her. Amy wasn't the cursing type.

"I didn't think it would affect her that much."

"What? What affect her that much?"

"I kind of thought Dan was kidding," she replied vaguely.

"Daniel? I'll kill him if he made her cry!"

"You're such a moron," she chided, swatting at him. "Dan saved her life. He probably understands her better than you do now."

Ian was just gaping at her.

"Are they, you know, going out?" he stammered out.

Amy rolled her eyes at him. "Not yet, you clueless git. _They're_ barely talking right now. So we do something to make them talk."

She ran her fingers absentmindedly against his arm as she thought.

Ian smirked at her now, getting back into familiar territory.

He planted a kiss on her lips. Amy sighed, but she didn't resist him as he murmured against her skin. "I like where you're going with this...keep talking..."

~.~

Natalie rubbed her pounding head.

_What happened?_

A hazy recollection came to her. Somebody had come into her room, while she was sleeping, and put something in her.

She shook her head. It felt like a hangover.

Where was she? Had she been taken? Was it another branch?

Natalie's head was spinning with questions, which was something she definitely didn't need.

She tried to get up, but there was something pinning her down.

Natalie flailed blindly—her head was still pounding—managing to shove it off of her.

She sat up, rubbing her eyes, her vision clearing a little.

Oh. The 'it' was Dan.

Oops.

He moaned, rubbing his stomach and head.

"Awww, fuck, that hurt!"

A beat late, he added, "Whoever you are, I'm going to kill you."

"Shuddup..."

Dan sat up straight, looking as if he wanted to hurl, "Natalie? What the hell?"

"I don't know," she answered, her tongue thick in her mouth, her brain slow. "Do you think I'm pretty?"

_Where did that come from?_

He laughed, and tried to look at her. "I think you're sexy," he warbled.

She giggled, something she had never done.

Oh, god, the things you did when you were intoxicated.

"Do you know what else I think?" he asked, his words messy and unrecognizable. "I think you need a kiisssss frrooom me."

He leaned close to her, while she was tried frantically to think about how to get them out of this state.

Dan being a breath's width from her didn't really help the situation.

"I know I do...hush, I'm trying to think...oh, my god, WATER!"

"What the hell are you talking about? Come here, I have a secret to tell you," he slurred, his tongue heavy.

Natalie rolled her eyes, or, at least, tried to_,_ and got up, her feet unsteady. She walked over to the sink, nice of whoever did this to put it there, and splashed water all over her face.

The difference was astonishing.

Her headache cleared, her vision sharpened, and her stance steadied.

Hurriedly, hastily, she cupped her hands full of water, and splashed it over Dan.

Almost instantly, he was on his feet, blinking rapidly, back to his normal sexy self.

Oh, God. This _really_ had to stop. Or they'd turn into another Amy and Ian, wanting each other so much, but never being able to date.

Dan interrupted her dilemma.

"Who the fuck did this?"

But it was better than to think about _that._

"Very vulgar, Daniel."

"Very proper, Tally," he mocked.

She rolled her eyes, a lot better than her last attempt.

"So who did this?"

Dan surveyed the room, looking thoughtfully at it.

"I think this is that room in your mansion, no? I think it was Amy and Ian."

Natalie could bang her head over and over again.

"Of course. Revenge."

"Mmmm-hmm," she heard him agree.

"Right," she said practically. "We'll just wait for them to let us out. It can't be long."

~.~

_17 hours later_

Dan groaned, as he rolled his neck around, stiff from sleeping in an awkward position.

His shoulder felt oddly heavy, as if pinned down. By what?

He blinked, and shifted so he could see what was on his arm.

Natalie.

Holy shit.

They had fallen asleep on opposite sides of the room, and this had happened?

_Nice going, fate, _he thought sarcastically.

Dan watched her, still asleep, her pretty features relaxed.

He had a sudden urge to kiss her, right then and there.

It wasn't fair how life worked, putting him into hard decisions like that sometimes, wanting the person he would probably never get.

Yup. Life was a bitch.

Maybe he could sneak a kiss.

He leaned slowly over her, making sure he didn't move his arm, the one that she was sleeping on.

Dan was close enough to kiss her now, and his heart was beating erratically.

Natalie's eyes fluttered open. They zoomed in on Dan.

"Dan? What are you doing?"

Oh, fuck. He got discovered.

"I was trying to get my arm from under your head," he lied smoothly.

When her expression said, "I don't believe you," he clarified, "Without waking you up."

She still didn't look that convinced, but she let it go.

So, taking advantage of her drowsiness, Dan asked, "So how are you coping?"

Natalie froze, looking at him warily.

"About what?"

"You know what."

She opened her mouth, but then closed it again, not saying a word.

"C'mon, Natalie."

She remained silent.

He stayed silent with her, knowing that she just needed a little company.

Tentatively, he put his arm around her, unsure if she would go berserk on him.

Natalie didn't. She leaned back against him, burying her face in his shirt.

Dan just held her close, because he knew how much it costed her, just for him to see a little part of her vulnerability, to show him a little of her weaknesses.

But she didn't cry, not a single drop.

He didn't say, "It's okay." or "Everything will be fine."

What he did say was, "I'm here for you, Natalie."

She just clutched him all the tighter.

~.~

The weakness was still there in her, the pain etching a hole in her heart.

It was horrible, letting someone see the pain, even though it was just a little.

It was completely embarrassing, but it made her burden just a _little_ lighter, a _little_ easier to carry.

It helped that the person that saw it was Dan.

It helped that he never judged her now, not like everyone else in the world.

But it didn't help that she had a big time crush on him, making her like all those teenage girls that she despised.

And her holding on to him the way she was _most_ _definitely did not help._

Oh, well. Not everything could be perfect.

But it scared her how...how...she'd become so..._unsecretive_ now. It was her nature to have her walls up, her guard up, never trusting anyone.

But having them down felt..._nice._

"I'm scared they'll come after me again," she blurted, hating how _scared_ she sounded.

Dan just ran his hand over her hair over and over, something Natalie had imagined.

Not a lot, of course.

The rhythmic strokes calmed her, reminding her to breathe in and out, and try to forget about the almost-rape.

It was still haunting; it made her frustrated, since she _should be stronger than that._

"Nobody expects you to be perfect, Tally," Dan murmured in her ear, guessing her thoughts, sending a tingle down her spine.

But she did.

~.~

_A few hours later_

And she was sitting in his lap, all her thoughts muddled, everything forgotten.

Almost everything.

Besides the fact that, _NATALIE KABRA WAS SNOGGING WITH DANIEL CAHILL._

His lips were on hers, their first kiss, fire all over her body, anywhere that he touched.

Dan made her knees feel like jelly, and that thought sent message after message that _she was weak._

Just like all those girls that she despised.

But for the moment, _she didn't care._

She forgot everything except that Dan was kissing her, and it was better than she imagined.

It was soft, tender, and rough, exciting, all at the same time.

Natalie knotted her hands in his salt-and-pepper hair, which was soft, nothing like Natalie had ever expected.

His lips were so soft, but the kiss was fire-like, making her tingle all over.

She threw herself into the kiss, letting everything out, all of the emotions she had bottled for years, out.

Apparently, Dan was doing the same thing.

When she finally pulled away, he latched on to her neck, giving her a—what did Americans call it?—a..._hickey._

He looked up at her, and she could see that his lips were swollen, _kiss-swollen._

By her.

The thought made her want to jump up and down, over and over.

Their breathing was ragged, and her heart was working overtime.

"That was...intense," she managed.

He pulled her close, again, and everything she wanted to say, disappeared again.

~.~

Amy and Ian risked opening the door, and peeked in.

Natalie and Dan were locked in a passionate embrace, completely oblivious that they were being watched.

Amy let out a little giggle.

About time they got together.

Meanwhile, Ian was staring open-mouthed at their siblings.

She planted a little kiss on his cheek.

"Keep looking like that, love," she mocked him lightly. "It's not often I get to see you staring like that."

He was actually _sputtering _now.

It was so...so..._cute._

"B-but...they're...SNOGGING!"

Amy quietly shut the door, giving Dan and Natalie a little privacy. She deserved it, after all she'd been through.

Then, she wrapped her arms around Ian's neck, bringing him closer to her.

"And so are we."

**So, did you like it?**

**If so, please review.**

**If not, please review.**

**See, it all works out, huh?**

**Did anyone get confused? I switched POV's a lot, and I never hinted it. Besides, the "~.~", I mean.**

**Right? I didn't think this deserved a "M" rating, either. But just to be safe, eh? Don't want my account taking, now, right?**

**Mmmm, well if you liked it or didn't like it, please review.**

**Thanks.**

_Sincerely,_

once. upon. a. time. there. was. me


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